Read My Mind
by acedanzer14
Summary: What if Summer was a geek in high school, and Seth was Mr. Popular? Will he be able to see past who she is like she did on the show? FINALLY UPDATED! CHAPTER 9 IS UP!
1. When you where young

Summer Roberts opened her locker with a sigh. Her first day of her senior year was not going like she thought it would. But who was she to think that this year would be different? Ever since she moved to Newport in seventh grade, it's like she's been an outcast. No one ever paid attention to Summer, only Marissa Cooper, but she tried to make every day of Summer's life a living hell.

Summer looked down at her schedule sheet and saw that she has gym next. _Great, just what I need a bunch of girls watching me fall on my face while I try to hit a volleyball. _She thought to herself. Summer quickly looked in her locker mirror and adjusted the glasses on her face. She closed her locker and headed down the hallway to the gym. As she was walking she saw everyone talk about their summers to one another. No one even asked Summer how her break was. Not that it was interesting; she just read some books and even visited ComicCon while everyone else was parting in TJ.

She walked into the locker room after the teacher handed her lock and saw Marissa pulling a Juicy Couture hoodie over her lacey bra. Summer wished she could be able to afford fancy gym clothes like that, but she had to settle for old t-shirts and old basketball shorts from her dad. All the girls made fun of her, but it was nothing new, they always did. She figured it was senior year; she should try and branch out a little.

"Hey Marissa, I like your, um, gym outfit. It's really cute!" Summer said while smiling an excruciatingly fake smile.

"Thanks. I like your Juicy sweats too, oh yeah that's right you're too poor to own any." Marissa said laughing as she walked away with Holly Fisher. 

Summer sighed again for what seemed to be the thousandth time today. She just kept thinking in her head, _don't worry! You've made it five years without friends. Besides next year you'll have plenty of friends at Brown, and not a single Newpsie will be there!_

Summer walked into the gym to already see most of the girls jogging, except for Marissa and Holly, who were sitting on the bleachers filing their nails. _Ugh their they go using that fake "I have really bad cramps" excuse again, _Summer thought. She ran into the line with all the girls, and she was at bliss, that was until she saw _him. _

He walked out of the boys locker with a grin plastered on his face. His usual dark curly mop of hair was cut shorter this year. Summer liked it though, of course it didn't matter what he did, she would always like him. His brown eyes caught hers for just a second, and she felt butterflies inside. She always did when she saw him; she had loved him ever since she saw him the first day she moved to Newport. He never noticed her though. He was too busy hanging out with his multiple girlfriends or winning the state baseball championship for Harbor. In Summer's mind he was all she ever wanted, but he would never know that. He was the most popular guy in school; there was no reason for Seth Cohen to notice a girl like Summer Roberts.

Summer was staring at him for so long she didn't realize that she had just run into the gym doors. Her face was red with embarrassment; she could hear everyone behind her laughing. Her heart broke when she heard Seth laughing then calling out "Hey everybody look! The Harbor School loser totally ran into the doors!" Following his statement even more laughter erupted.

Summer dashed off into the locker room and started to cry. She couldn't understand why everyone here hated her. Sure she didn't have designer clothes or a fancy car, but did they have to be so mean? Summer walked over to the sink and began to wash the mascara stains off her cheeks. She looked in the mirror and saw a pretty girl with no makeup on and glasses. She shrugged at her appearance and began to change back into her regular clothes. She put on her jeans and her Brown t-shirt. She looked at the clock and realized she had enough time to read the comic book she had gotten on the way to school.

"Ha ha! Looks like Harbor's biggest loser is reading another one of her lame comics!" Marissa said as she walked in with Holly and all of the other girls trailing behind her.

Summer shoved her comic book into purse and left the locker room. It was like every class she went to she was ridiculed in some way. At last the bell rang. Summer looked at her schedule and saw she had AP Calculus next. She had always been good at math, it was the one class where no one could make fun of her, they were just always in awe of her perfect test scores.

As she walked into the classroom she saw all the students sitting and talking with their friends. She decided to take a seat in the back corner of the room where no one could bother her. As she sat down the teacher walked into the room.

"Hello everyone. I am your teacher Mr. Johnson. Now if we go ahead and assign the seats we can go ahead and start class."

He went down the list and assigned everyone their seats -- except Summer. She looked around the room and saw that the only seat left was table at the back of the room. _Great, _she thought, _even the teacher knows I don't have any friends. _

"Roberts you will be sitting in the back with Cohen once he gets here from the office." Mr. Johnson said.

_No, I can't have Seth Cohen sit next to me. He will distract me with his good looks and charm. Or maybe he just won't talk to me, yeah, he won't talk to me. _ Summer sat down at the table and pulled her calculator out her purse. Just as she looked up from the neat workspace she had set she saw Seth walk into the room. He pulled his messenger bag off and set it on the table. As he sat down he sighed a little, he didn't know how he was going to pass this class with the biggest loser sitting next to him.

Little did both of them know how their worlds would change just from a simple seating assignment in AP Calculus.

A/N: I really hope you like this! It's my very first fanfic so read and review and I'll continue.


	2. Trouble Sleeping

It was hard for Summer to concentrate on reviewing Pre-Cal when Seth Cohen was sitting next to her. She would try to seem interested in Mr. Johnson's lecture, but after a few seconds her mind would drift into thoughts about Seth. _I wonder what his favorite color is. Maybe it's blue! I like blue; there, we're perfect for each other. _

After Mr. Johnson finished reviewing he let the students talk a little. "Now remember it's the first day, so don't get used to talking everyday after I finish. This is AP Calculus you should expect a lot of homework," he said.

Summers mind kept tossing around possible scenarios for her to talk to Seth. _How should I even begin to talk to him? I mean look at those dimples! Just act cool Sum, oh what am I kidding? I've never acted "cool" in my entire life!_ But before Summer could even begin a conversation Seth opened his mouth to talk.

"Look, we don't have to talk you know? I'll just sit here and do my homework or something and we don't even have to acknowledge each other, ok? Last thing I want is for everyone to find out I'm talking to, um, what's your name again?" Seth said coldly to her.

"It's Summer, Summer Roberts." Summer said with tears in her eyes. She never expected Seth to be so mean to her. Sure, she didn't expect him to be exactly Mr. Friendly and to fall in love with her at first sight. But, she never expected this. She quickly shrugged it off, whipped her tears, and began to work on her Calculus homework.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After what seemed like forever, the bell rang. Summer gathered her belongings and stuffed them in her purse. She began the daunting task of walking to her locker, and watching everyone whisper and laugh about the fall she had earlier that day. Once she reached her locker she looked on her schedule and saw that she had lunch next. Lunch was the most dreaded thing about the day; she didn't know who she would sit with. Usually she would sit alone and read a comic, but today she didn't feel like sitting alone very much.

Summer grabbed her lunch bag out her locker and made her way to the cafeteria. She looked all over for someone to sit with. _Marissa Cooper? Definitely not. Seth Cohen? After what happened today, I think I can forget about that dream forever. _Summer gave Seth a quick smile, and he just pretended not to see it at all. She looked around the cafeteria again, and then she saw Luke Ward, the one guy who would actually talk to her.

"Hi Luke," Summer said as she gently placed her paper bagged lunch down.

"Oh, hi Summer! I haven't seen you all day." Luke said to her as he flashed a smile.

Luke was the closest thing Summer had to a friend. He was the first person she met when she transferred to Newport in seventh grade. Both of them bonded over there love of comics and the fact that most of the grade thought that they were losers. But they never hung out, Luke was always busy on weekends with homework, plus Summer was always reading her latest comic.

"Yeah, I've been busy today. I have a lot of homework and it's only the first day, I'm sorry I haven't stopped by your locker," Summer said to him while she was staring at Seth.

"Hey it's no problem! So I see one thing hasn't changed over the summer…"

"Luke I know my boobs have not gotten any bigger! Stop teasing me about it!"

"No, I mean this crush you've had on Cohen since, what, seventh grade?"

"It's not that obvious is it?"

"He's sat at the same table since freshman year, and you are staring at that very table," Luke started to shift in his seat," The way I see it is that it's senior year, you might as well make your move before you never see him again. But hey, it's just my advice. Anyway I need to get to the library. See you later Sum!"

"Bye Luke!" Summer said as she sighed once more. _Maybe I should make a move. He hasn't had a girlfriend in over a year. And what's the worst that could happen? Well the entire school could find out and ridicule me…but graduation would be soon and then it would all be over plus they've always ridiculed me. Who am I kidding? I've never said two words to him. Besides I'm just the girl who sits next to him in class and not to mention a geek. We don't fit, we're too opposite. Seth and I together would be a miracle and I should know that miracles don't exist. _

The bell rang and Summer grabbed her books and headed to her next class. _Only a few more classes to go, then I can get out of here. _

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When the day finally ended Summer bolted to her locker and stuffed her books into her Jansport backpack. She flung it over her shoulders and walked towards the door to finally celebrate her freedom from her last "first day" at Harbor.

As soon as she walked out the door she heard an icy voice from behind her. "I like your backpack Summer! Does it match the other Chanel ones you have? Oops, I forgot, you don't own any Chanel!" Marissa said while snickering to her loyal followers.

Summer brushed it off and reminded herself that in a year she would be laughing about Marissa with all her other friends at Brown. _Maybe she'll grow up to have a beer gut. That would be the sweetest revenge ever. _Summer made her way past all the Range Rovers and BMWs to her own old Volvo at the back of the parking lot. She climbed into the car and sped out the parking lot as fast as she could. Yet, Luke's words kept ringing in the back of her mind. _The way I see it is that it's senior year, you might as well make your move before you never see him again_. Summer pushed the words out her mind and sped all the way until she reached her house.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Seth ran into his house to avoid his parents at all costs. They were already mad at him for throwing a party last night, how where they going to react when they found out he dented his Range Rover again? He didn't mean to hit that tree; if only one of his friends didn't call him then he would have kept his eyes on the road.

Seth rushed into his room and closed the door quietly so his parents wouldn't hear him upstairs. He turned on his computer and started playing one of his favorite Death Cab songs. _Man, if my friends ever knew I liked Death Cab they'd laugh at me to my face. _Seth opened his Calculus book and began to finish his homework. Once he was done he laid on his bed while holding Captain Oats on his stomach.

"Oats, I don't know how I'm gonna make it through the year sitting next to…is it April? Or May? Oh right its Summer! Anyway, what if she tries to put the moves on me man? I mean what girl can resist the Seth Cohen charm?"

"My advice is just to be nice to her, I mean maybe he'll switch the seats up later in the year," a voice that seemed to be coming from Captain Oats said.

"Shit! Oats did you just talk to me?!"

"Ha-ha you wish it was Oats talking to you. Your mother and I saw what you did to your car Seth. Kitchen. Now!"

Seth turned around to see Sandy standing in the doorway. Seth knew he would be hearing about responsibility for the hundredth time this week. He jumped off his bed and made his way downstairs for another very long lecture.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

While Sandy was lecturing him Seth couldn't keep something, or someone, off his mind. He just kept thinking about Summer the entire time Sandy was talking. He saw the hurt in her eyes when he told her not to talk to him. He also saw her brush a tear away when she thought he wasn't looking. He also remembered how awful he felt when he pretended not to see her smile to him at lunch. He just sighed to himself and kept listening to Sandy.

Once Sandy had finished lecturing to Seth, he decided to go watch some television. He sat down in the couch and flipped the television on. He landed on an old episode of The Valley; he wanted to know what all the girls at school were so obsessed with. As the characters were talking, what one said struck Seth's nerves." _Sometimes your heart knows things your mind can't explain."_

Seth thought to himself for a second then decided to go upstairs and get some sleep. He only got about three hours the night before from the party he had. But as he was lying in his bed he kept thinking about what that character from The Valley had said.

_Sometimes your heart knows things your mind can't explain. _

**A/N: Thank you very much for all the reviews! They make me so happy. Anyway there haven't been a lot of actual Seth/Summer interactions but many will come soon. And I know it's hard to picture Summer with glasses but I just felt she needed something other than just looking like her normal self. And I don't know if Ryan will be in this story very much, he might but not as a main character. Also I will try to update this story as soon as I can. **


	3. Something Pretty

**A/N: I just wanted to answer some questions that some people had. Anyway Summer can go to Harbor because she is on a scholarship there (I should have mentioned that.) At first I was thinking of giving Summer a makeover, but then I thought that she shouldn't have one because in the show Seth never changed for Summer and she still loved him. And I'll try to make the chapters longer; I just don't want to make them too long that you get bored reading it. And more thanks for all the reviews I really do appreciate it! And if you have anymore questions just ask and I will answer them!**

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Seth was starting to hate AP Calculus. It wasn't the fact that everyday he walked out with a load of homework, and it wasn't the fact that he was on the verge of failing. He hated Calculus because of the girl sitting next to him. She wasn't annoying or needy, it was that every since he started that class he couldn't get her out of his mind. It was weird to Seth considering he hadn't thought of a girl that much since, well, ever. He didn't want to like Summer Roberts, but his heart had different plans for him. Seth decided every way possible to try and get that damn girl out his head, and he already came up with a few solutions. First he would avoid Summer at all costs, second he would see if Mr. Johnson would let him move, and last he would try to be as mean to Summer as he possibly could.

Seth put down his homework and began his walk to Mr. Johnson's desk. He hated talking to Mr. Johnson, he always had a way of looking at Seth like he was the dumbest kid in the room, and frankly he was. Seth stared straight at Mr. Johnson waiting to see when he would acknowledge him. The last thing Seth wanted was to initiate the conversation between the two.

Mr. Johnson finally picked his head up from the mound of papers he was graded, and started to stare at Seth. "Ah, Mr. Cohen, just the man I wanted to see. I was about to call you over here but it seems you beat me too it," he said while giving Seth his trademark "your-the-worst-in-the-class" look.

"Well, um, wow. I guess I have physic powers then. Ha-ha," Seth said while trying to flash him his most innocent grin.

"Well, Mr. Cohen that would be the only thing you have going for you in this class. I wanted you to about your grades."

"Um, what about them?"

"It seems Seth that you are on the verge of failing this class. Are you aware of that?"

"No," Seth lied. He knew he was failing, he just thought maybe he could get a couple extra credit points using his charm. That way he wouldn't have to even think about telling his father.

"You can asses this one of two ways: one you can drop the class, or two you could get a tutor."

Seth thought for a second. He knew if he dropped the class his dad would know he failed, and the last thing he wanted was his dad to find that out. Besides, maybe his tutor would be hot. Then they could have one of those dirty teacher/student relationships.

"Um, well, I think I'll take the tutor."

"That's a wise choice Seth. I'd hate to see someone drop out of this class. Hold on a moment and let me check who the available tutors are."

Seth stood nervously waiting to see who his tutor would be. He didn't care who it was, just as long as she was hot. At least he hoped it would be a she. _I guess I could live with a guy. I mean it wouldn't be as bad as getting—_

"Summer Roberts would be a good choice for you Seth. Tell her she'll start today. I wouldn't want you to get behind."

_Shit. This is not the way I thought forgetting her would go. _

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Summer could not believe it. In exactly five hours she would be inside Seth Cohen's home. _It's not a date Summer. Stop getting so worked up over nothing. We'll just sit in his kitchen, review some problems, and then I'll get out of there. Last thing he wants is me hanging around his house. Besides I'm teaching him math, there is nothing remotely romantic about Calculus. Remember try not to act interested, guys like that, I think. _

Summer rushed into the cafeteria and found her normal seat by Luke very quickly. It could have been that she was running, the fact that the two had sat in the same spot since the beginning of the year, or that she has some very good news to share with him.

"Luke, Luke! I need to tell you something!" Summer said practically out of breath.

"Hey Sum, it's good to see you too. So what is this news that you must share with me?" Luke said laughing at the sight of Summer.

"I…" Summer tried to get her words out, but she needed to breathe first. She couldn't remember the last time she had ran that fast, or at all.

"Yes…"

"I'm tutoring Cohen! I'm going to his house tonight. Maybe I'll have a chance Luke! I mean he'll see me outside of school, he could totally see me in a different light!"

"Wow, Summer that's great news. But I hate to be the barer of bad news, aren't you kind of getting ahead of yourself a little?"

"Well you're the one who said I should try to make my move. Anyway, how's your pursuit of Marissa Cooper going?"

"I wish I could say it was going good, but I can't. She won't even acknowledge me Sum. Plus she's too busy always making out with Ryan Atwood."

"Are they even together?" Summer's eyes widened. She loved to hear all about the gossip that was going on at Harbor, even though she tried to hide it.

"No, apparently they just hook up on the weekends."

"Luke, maybe you should take your own advice. Make your move before she's gone. You never know what could happen. Anyway I have to go the library and check out some books on tutoring, I don't know the first thing on how to do it."

Summer picked up her lunch bag and made her way toward the trash cans. She couldn't help the smile that kept crawling across her face. Sure, she probably looked crazy. But she had one thing that most girls at school didn't have: an invite to Seth Cohen's house.

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Summer felt awkward when she pulled up in the Cohen driveway. Here she was parked in front of one of the most beautiful houses she had seen and she was sitting in and old Volvo. People who drove by probably thought she was the hired help, just another maid to the Cohen's.

She got out of her car and slowly made her way up to the door. She was nervous, more nervous than she thought she would be. Part of her wanted to get into her car and drive all the way back home, but if she did that then she could never face Seth again. _If I drove home what would I say to him tomorrow? Oh, I'm sorry I was too nervous to even ring the doorbell, can you find another tutor?_ Before Summer even had time to think about it her finger had already pressed the doorbell. All she could do was sit and wait.

Finally Seth answered the door. He was standing there wearing a polo, and what looked to be Spiderman boxers. He held open the door with one hand, while carefully balancing a bowl of ice cream in the other.

"You're late." He said to her coldly. _Geez, Cohen, you don't have to be that mean to her,_ he thought.

"I'm sorry, I had to fill up my gas on the way here, and then I kind of got lost in your neighborhood; your house is pretty hard to find.

"Yeah, well we like it that way." _Cohen, I swear, why are you being such an ass to her? It's like these words are coming out before I have time to think of them. Shit! Did I seriously just answer the door in boxers?_

"Um, well are you ready to get started? We could maybe go into the kitchen or something? I'm sorry I'm not trying to be bossy; we could actually go wherever you want. We could go to the pier or something, of course you probably don't want to been seen with me. I'm sorry I'm rambling."

"No problem. Let's just go into the kitchen, it's where I like to do all my best thinking. You know my speech for class president? I totally thought of it in the kitchen."

"Yeah, the kitchen is a good idea. There's plenty of light, for studying and things…" Summer trailed off. She couldn't believe all the butterflies this guy was giving her, it just made her more nervous.

"Yeah, there is a lot of light in the kitchen. I use it a lot for, um, projects," he said. _What the hell is wrong with me? Usually I'm smooth around the ladies, what is this girl doing to me? Could I be falling for Summer Roberts? No, that can't be it. I'm just nervous to see how this tutoring will go, that's it! At least I think that's it. _

Seth and Summer both walked into the kitchen awkwardly, both of them had their hands in their pockets and they were looking at the floor. Summer sat down at the counter but Seth remained standing.

"So would you like to listen to some music? I mean music really gets me thinking. I do like explosive thinking in the kitchen while listening to music," Seth said nervously.

"Yeah, that's fine. Pick out anything you like." Summer smiled an awkwardly to Seth.

"Well in that case I'll put in some Death Cab."

"I've never listened to them. I actually don't think I've heard of them. I don't listen to music a lot. I have to study a lot so I can keep my scholarship to Harbor."

Seth smiled at her. He ran up to his room to get the c.d. that was lying on his floor. He looked at it for a second to make sure it was the right one. He grabbed it and ran downstairs. Once he got in the kitchen he went and put the c.d. in the player and he sat down at the counter next to Summer.

"Ok, so should we start now? I need all the time I can get to master Calculus," Seth said inching a little closer to Summer. _Hey I am only getting closer so I can see what she's teaching me. I still do not like Summer Roberts, I think. _

"Yeah, but Cohen before we start…"

"Yeah?"

"This music sounds kind of like one guitar and a whole lot of complaining," she said playfully.

"Hey, do not insult Death Cab!"

"Maybe we should start"

"That might be an excellent idea…"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

In couple of hours Seth had managed to master the basics of Calculus. Even with the hardest problems Summer tried to give him, he would do them quickly and correctly.

"Wow, it's getting late Seth. Maybe I should head home," Summer said yawing.

"Yeah, I'll walk you outside. It's cold out there."

"Seth its ninety degrees outside. . ."

"Well, then I'll do it out of politeness, and my hereditary Cohen charm."

"Fine"

Both of them walked out to Summer's car in silence. But instead of the silence being awkward, it was comfortable. The kind of comfortable silence that couples had. When they reached her car Summer turned around to say something to Seth.

"You know Seth you're not who I though you were."

"I'm not…"

"No, and I'm glad you're not. Just trust me, it's a good thing."

"Well, thanks then," he said as Summer climbed into her car. She put her key in the ignition and began to put the car in drive but stopped herself. She just had to tell him one thing before she left.

"Oh, and Seth?"

"Yes…"

"I forgot to tell you that I like your boxers, Spiderman is far superior to the other superheroes," she said giggling.

Summer then put the car in drive and drove away. Seth stood on the driveway, still not believing that he forgot to put pants on. But that wasn't the worst of his problems. The worst of his problems was that he, Seth Cohen, like a petite brunette named Summer Roberts. _I guess that quote from The Valley was true; man, who would have thought that show would be so insightful?_

**A/N: At first I didn't know if I liked how this chapter was going. But I like how it came out. It's longer than the others and has more SS interactions, so yay for that!** **I can't wait to write more of this, I think I have some pretty good ideas! Anyway thank you again for all of your reviews; I'm glad you like the story. **


	4. The Heart Won't Lie

When Seth woke up the next morning he had a splitting headache. He was starting to get second thought about drinking the entire bottle of tequila, and a few bottles of beer. After Summer left that night Seth did everything possible to forget her. It started with a bottle of beer and then graduated into doing shots of tequila. He never drank tequila, in fact he hated the taste, but he would do anything to get that girl off his mind. He would have reached for another bottle, but he passed out before he could even reach it.

Seth left his bed and went to the bathroom to take his usual morning shower. He was about to turn the faucet on hot, but he read somewhere cold showers help with hangovers. He stepped in the shower and winced when the icy water hit him. He decided that coffee may be the better alternative, and he preferred hot showers.

Once Seth entered the kitchen, he saw Sandy standing by the counter slicing a bagel. Seth figured his dad didn't even know about his alcoholic rampage last night, so he decided to actually talk to his dad for the first morning in days.

"Hey dad, I see the bagel schmearing is going well," Seth said while trying not to look guilty.

"Ah, Seth, I see you have finally graced me with your presence this morning," Sandy chuckled.

"Well, not for long Sanford, I'm gonna run to Starbucks, I need coffee very badly."

"Bye Seth."

Before Seth could even say goodbye to Sandy he was out the door. He didn't even need to go to Starbucks; the headache had already worn off. He just needed an excuse to get out the house before Sandy could discover the missing bottle of tequila. However, it didn't matter how strong the liquor was, nothing would get that girl out of his head. _What is it that I see in her? I mean sure, she's pretty. Actually, she's gorgeous. She's just so different than any girl in our school. Whoa, Seth, what are you thinking? Are you willing to blow your reputation on some girl? I don't think so. Reputation always wins over girl. _Upon making that decision, Seth sped into the parking lot and found his usual reserved spot in the front for class president.

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Summer Roberts could not believe she was running late. She had never been late anywhere in her life. Her family even joked that the only time she had been late was when she didn't arrive on her due date. _I can't believe this! I am never late. I knew I shouldn't have stayed up all night talking about Seth to Princess Sparkle. _ _Besides she never gives her input. _

Summer entered to empty hallways. She couldn't believe she was this late. She ran to her locker, got her gym clothes and then sprinted to the gym. She changed quickly and starting jogging around the gym. She saw him come out the locker room again, but this time she made sure to keep her eyes on where she was going; she didn't want a repeat of what happened last time.

"Hey Summer!" called a voice from behind her. _Wait; is that who I think it is? Why would she be saying 'hey' to me? Is she drunk or something?_

"Hi…Marissa," Summer said cautiously. She knew something was up if Marissa was even acknowledging her. She just had to keep her eyes open for it.

"Ok, well I guess I will see you later! Bye girl!" Marissa cheerfully said. _'Bye girl?' Something is definitely up. I don't know what it is, but I'm gonna find out. _

The bell finally rang freeing Summer from her own personal hell. She was excited she could finally go to Calculus. It was the one class she looked forward to. Of course there were perks that came with that class. One was that it would help her get into Brown. The Second was that she got to sit next to Seth Cohen.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - -

Summer entered the classroom with a smile on her face. She had been wondering the entire time while she was walking the hallway what he would say to her. _Whatever it is, I hope it's good. Maybe he'll ask you out. Ok, Sum, let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Breathe, just breathe. _

She saw him enter the room and tried to nonchalantly notice him. She didn't want to come across as being to clingy or neurotic. She decided she would just sit at her seat, do the bellringer, and wait for him to make the first move. Once Seth sat down she waited for him to say something—or anything. He never did. He just sat and stared at the board.

"Hey Seth." Summer knew she had violated her rule, but she figured that maybe he was nervous.

"Oh, hey Summer," Seth said referring back to the initial cold voice he gave her. He hated being mean to her, it was the last thing he wanted to do, but he had to for his reputation. He couldn't have the school know he was actually talking to Summer Roberts.

"So are we still on for tutoring tonight at my house? Do I need to give you directions or anything?" Summer asked on the verge of tears. _I thought we clicked last night. Oh well, I guess I was reading the signs wrong. Maybe he was just being nice because his parents were there. _

"Yeah, I guess. And I don't need directions, ever heard of a thing called MapQuest? I'm sure I can use it to even find a house as small as yours." Seth hated saying that. Truly, he did. As soon as he did he saw tears cascade down the brunette's cheeks, his heart broke. He couldn't even look at her; he just stared at his blank piece of notebook paper.

"Great, then I'll see you after school," Summer said while trying to choke back her tears. She didn't understand this guy, one second he was nice to her, and the next he was an ass. _I'm fine, I'm completely fine. At least, I think I am. _

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Seth was dreading the tutoring today. He couldn't believe he let those words come out his mouth. He also couldn't believe he was choosing his reputation over someone who made him feel amazing. Now he was in her driveway. He wanted to drive home, but he knew she'd be even more disappointed in him tomorrow. He also had to remember he was failing Calculus, and tutoring was the only way his dad wouldn't find out he was failing.

Seth finally got out his car and made his way to the front door. Her house definitely didn't look anything remotely like his. It was about ten times smaller and probably ten times older. Seth finally used every ounce of courage he had to ring the doorbell. A few seconds later Summer opened the door with a frown on her face and black mascara on her cheeks.

"What do you want?" She asked coldly. She figured if Seth could act cold toward her, she could act cold toward him.

"I see you forgot about our tutoring session today…" he said kindly.

"Oh, well I see somehow you managed to find my small house. I'm sorry it's not as big as yours, but we can't all be rich jerks."

"Look, Summer…I'm sorry for that…" Seth started to say but Summer cut in.

"Sorry for what? Sorry for making me cry for hours. For making me eat in the bathroom during lunch because I didn't even want to look at you. Because I'm sure you've experienced those things," She yelled while crying at Seth.

"Look I'm sorry for what I said in Calculus today. It was mean. I know that's not the apology you wanted to hear, but it's the best I can give you right now."

"Wow that was some apology. I think I heard that same one from a first grader, only swap in 'at recess' for Calculus," she said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry ok?"

"Whatever, just come in so I can tutor you. The sooner you catch up in Calculus, the sooner I never have to talk to you again. That way I won't ruin your stupid reputation."

"Fine."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"So it's that simple?" Seth asked Summer while she was teaching him her lesson.

"I mean they can get harder, but that's pretty much it," Summer said moving a little closer to Seth.

Summer could have eaten her words earlier about Calculus not being romantic. In the time since they started the tutoring the two had inched so close their chairs were touching. Both of them had forgotten about the feud they had earlier, and they mutually decided to put it behind them—for now. Seth knew that tomorrow Summer would probably surface the fight once more, but for now they were just enjoying their time together. Every once in a while Seth would say something sarcastic and Summer would slap him playfully. To the naked eye it looked like they were flirting, but if you asked them they would just deny it.

"Hey Seth, do you mind if I ask you something kind of personal?" Summer asked quietly.

"Yeah, shoot."

"Why do you care so much about your reputation?"

"Um, I don't know. I guess I just do. I guess if you think about it, it goes back to elementary school. I didn't have many friends then, so I decided to do something about it. That's why I picked up baseball. I just feel if I make the wrong move to screw up my reputation, than I'll lose all my friends or something. And life was hell when I didn't have friends, no offense."

Summer sighed. "You know, Seth, there is a lot more to life than having a good reputation. If people don't like you for you, then well, there not really your friends. I'm sorry if that sounded way Dr.Phil, it's just…"

"No, it's true. And yeah, that did sound a little like Dr. Phil," Seth laughed. _She's so cute when she tries to act like a little Dr. Phil. _

"Ha ha, well what can I say? I'm a sucker for daytime television."

"Well, I mean who isn't? Hey, before I go home, can we do one more problem. I mean, just to make sure I'm ready for the test."

"Uh, yeah, we can do that. Let me just find another problem in the book." Summer turned to a page in the book that had extra review problems and handed the book to Seth.

"There. Do number forty-three."

Seth stared at it for a moment dumfounded. He didn't even know where to begin. He didn't want to look like he didn't know the answer; he didn't want Summer to think he was stupid.

"Cohen, do you need some help. If you do that's what I'm here for." Summer noticed he was struggling on how to start, and her job was to help him.

"Um, yeah, this one is pretty hard."

"Well, let me see it." Summer grabbed the book from Seth and placed it in front of her. She then motioned Seth to move closer to her. _I'm telling him to move close so that he can see. Although, we are already pretty close, any closer and he'll be sitting on top of me. _

"Yeah, it's pretty hard. I think I can do it though," Summer said nervously. Seth Cohen was sitting centimeters away from her. She could feel her heart beating faster and she could also feel his breath on her.

"You see, Seth, all you have to do is…" She turned to face Seth to see if he was paying attention. What she saw was Seth starting at her, and not his paper. Summer looked at him and the two moved closer together, finally to the point where Seth's lips touched hers. The kiss they shared was slow and gentle, until Summer broke away.

"You know Seth; I should probably get to bed. The Calculus test tomorrow will be intense, so I should get some sleep before it," Summer said as she started to run to her room.

"Summer, wait."

"What Cohen? What could you possibly want?"

"Why did you pull away?"

"What does it matter Cohen? You won't acknowledge me at school anyway. I'm just the girl you talk to and kiss when no ones looking. Your 'too ashamed' to be with me. All you'll do is deny it, you'll say it never happened."

"Summer, I like you, a lot."

"No you don't Cohen, if you liked me than you wouldn't be ashamed to be seen with me, or care so much about your stupid reputation."

"But I do really like you Summer."

"Then prove it. Until then, just get out my house Cohen."

Seth walked out Summer's door and watched as she slammed the door in his face. He began walking to his car with his head hung low. Once he got to his car he put his hand on the handle and looked at Summer's house. _How could something that felt so right, been so wrong._ Seth shrugged at the thought, than got into his car and drove away.

**A/N: This is definitely not my favorite chapter. It was really hard to write this considering I kept getting really bad cases of writers block. I knew where I wanted to take my characters in the story I was just having trouble getting there. So anyway, next chapter will be a whole lot better. Thanks again so much for the reviews, I would like some more though just to see if there's anything I need to improve on or anything you want to see happen. **


	5. See I'm Smiling

Summer sighed once she opened the door of her car. She could already tell today was going to be one of the worst days of her life. The last thing she wanted to do was go to school to face _him. _The day wouldn't even be so bad if they didn't sit next to each other in Calculus. She thought about asking Mr. Johnson to let her move, but she figured that he's to big an ass to do so.

While she was driving she thought for a while if she should skip school. Summer had never skipped school in her entire life, but the thought of not seeing Seth was worth it. She decided to pull into a parking lot to decide if she really wanted to skip. _The pros of me skipping are that I won't have to see Seth Cohen—at all. The cons are I miss my Calculus test. _Summer shrugged her shoulders and for the first time in her life she skipped school.

Summer didn't know what to do; she had never skipped school before. It wasn't like she could read a book on it, like she would normally. Last time she checked Books-A-Million did not sell copies of _Skipping School for Dummies. _The next thing she knew she was in the parking lot at Starbucks. She figured even if she was going to skip school she would need some coffee, plus there was no chance of Seth being there, it was past eight already.

Every time Summer walked into Starbucks she felt calm. Maybe it was the smell of the coffee, or the cool jazz playing throughout the shop. Whatever it was, she felt good. She quickly walked up to the counter before she died from her lack of caffeine.

"Hi! Can I get a vanilla latté?" She asked contentedly.

Once she was given her latte, she picked one of the comfy seats that faced the ocean. For once, she could actually sit in this Starbucks, rather than pick it up from the drive-thru. _Maybe I could get used to this skipping thing. _She laughed silently to herself. She thought never in a million years she would say that. Just as she was finally calming down, thoughts of what happened the previous night flooded her mind. She had many times dreamed of Seth kissing her, but it never crossed her mind that she would actually push him away. Summer pushed the thought out of her head for the time being. She just sat back, relaxed, and closed her eyes.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Seth Cohen woke up at nine o' clock on the dot. The previous night he already vowed to himself that he would skip. It was a defensive mechanism he always used when he had a girl problem. Although Seth acted like he was confident, on the inside he wasn't. He was never confident enough to talk to a girl after a break up or after awkward sex. He would usually set his alarm for nine, and then skip the rest of the day. It took Seth a while to actually wake up from his deep slumber. He had spent most of the night tossing and turning and going over what he had done. He couldn't believe he had actually kissed her, he didn't know what came over him; he just knew it seemed like the right thing to do. He understood Summer's reaction, not wanting to be the invisible girlfriend. Seth had worked hard for his reputation; he didn't want to blow it on some girl that he would eventually break up with.

As much as it pained him, he threw back the covers. That was the part of waking up that Seth hated the most. He hated going from a warm bed to the coldness of his house. He got out of his bed and let out a yawn. He paced his room looking for any ideas on what to do that day, but he knew he couldn't concentrate without a stomach full of caffeine. He quickly ran to the kitchen to brew up a pot. Seth found the coffee maker and the coffee and started filling a pot.

While he was waiting for the coffee to drip slowly into the pot, he decided to take a shower. The shower was where he always did his best thinking, other than the kitchen. Once he was showered and ready, he poured his cup of coffee and headed out the door.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Summer opened her eyes to find that she had fallen asleep. She laughed at the thought that she had fallen asleep in Starbucks. She wondered what all the people had said about the sleeping girl on the chair. Summer regained consciousness and fled the café. She climbed into her old Volvo and banged her head on the steering wheel. _I don't know what to do. I don't a lot of other things; maybe I'll head to the mall. I can clear my head while I'm in the comic book store. _

Once Summer reached the mall, she realized she couldn't find a parking spot. _What did everyone decide to skip today? I mean, seriously! _She found a parking spot on the last row and began her trek to the mall. She walked by all the Newpsies who were paying the vale parking, thinking that it was such a waste a money and that if they did things like cardio bar, they could walk to the entrance of the mall. _Thank God I'll never be like that. _

Summer knew that the comic book store was in the back of the mall, most people who lived in Newport didn't exactly find comics interesting. She walked by all the expensive clothing stores rolling her eyes at the people in them buying the outrageously expensive items. Summer didn't care much for designer clothes; she mostly bought jeans, and wore t-shirts with them. Even if she liked designer clothes, it didn't matter, she couldn't afford them anyway. Summer quickly ran by all the stores until something caught her eye. It was a dress in the window of the Marc Jacobs store. It was the one designer thing that she actually liked, something worth spending money on. She looked at it, just wishing she could at least try it on. Before she got ahead of herself, she peeled her eyes away and walked to the comic book store.

Once she walked in the comic book store, she picked up as many comics as she could. It had been a while since she had caught up with the latest installments of her favorite superheroes. She found a couch at the back of the store, sat down, and started reading.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Seth couldn't believe he was standing in the mall. He hated the mall. It, unfortunately, was the only place he could think of, even with caffeine in his stomach. He silently roamed around the mall looking for anywhere of interest to go. He passed several Newpies-in-training that he had once hooked up with on the way to the mall map. He couldn't believe that those were the girls he used to be attracted to. They were all the same. They all talked way too loud, smacked on their gum constantly, and always _had _to have the latest designer purse. To him Summer was like a breath of fresh air. It was like he was drowning and she saved him.

Seth checked the mall map and found that the only store that remotely interested him was the music store. He figured he could buy the newest Death Cab cd when he knew for sure no one he knew would be there. Seth walked toward the music store with different thoughts flooding his head. The thoughts were all about the same thing: Summer. It was like ever since he sat next to her in Calculus, he couldn't get her out his head. It didn't matter how much liquor he drank, or how many times he tried to forget her, he couldn't. Summer had buried herself in his thoughts, and there was no way to get her out.

When Seth finally reached the music store he looked all around to make sure no one he knew was in it. Sure enough his best friend Ryan was looking at cd's. Against his better judgment Seth walked up to Ryan.

"Hey man, what's going on?" Seth asked to Ryan.

"Oh, God Seth, you scared the hell out of me."

"Ha, sorry man. I was just passing through on my way to Lacoste, and I saw you in here and thought 'Hey look Ryan!'" Seth lied, but Seth had to. Everyone at school thought Seth hated music. The truth was Seth didn't like many other bands other than the Shins or Death Cab. Therefore, he told everyone he hated music, rather than letting them know he listened to whiny music.

"Oh, well I wouldn't want to keep you from your polo buying sprees. I was just picking up a Journey cd, then heading out. See you later man."

"Bye Ryan."

Seth walked out of the music store looking for something else to occupy his time. The only thing next to the music store was the comic book store. Seth looked at the store; just looking at it reminded him of Summer. He walked in thinking if they ever were on speaking terms again, he could tell her he actually ventured into the store.

Seth walked the aisles of the store looking at the front covers of the comics. He looked for one to read, but none of them seemed right. That was until he stumbled onto the Spiderman comics. Seth had remembered that Summer said he was the more superior of all the superheroes. Seth picked up the comic, and the few issues behind it and made his way over to the area of couches the store had provided. When he sat down, he was in for an even bigger surprise than reading his first comic.

"Summer?" Seth questioned. He meant to say it to himself, but it accidentally came out.

Summer picked her head up from the comic she was engrossed in. She at first didn't realize it was Seth. But once she saw him smile, she knew it was him. "Oh my God!" Summer picked up her comic and starting fleeing.

"Summer! Wait!" Seth yelled at her. He ran as fast as he could to try and catch up with her. Once he did, he grabbed her wrist to stop her from running any farther.

"LET GO OF ME YOU ASS!!" she yelled so loud, many people turned around to watch what was going on.

"Summer, look we need to talk about last night," Seth said growing frustrated with her.

"Seth, just let me go," she pleaded with him with tears forming in her eyes.

"Not unless you let me talk to you. I'll let you go if you promise not to run. Promise?" He asked her reassuringly.

"I…Promise," she said choking her words out.

Seth let go of her wrist and she stayed in her place, just like she promised. She motioned to Seth to join her on one of the couches. He followed her and sat down next to her.

"I see why you would be upset about last night," he kindly told her.

"Seth, no you don't. You just can't play me hot and cold anytime you want to. You can't hate me at school and then kiss me and say you like me at my house. These are my emotions that you're screwing with," she said sobbing.

"I'm sorry. I really am. I'll do anything to make it up to you."

"Seth, you just can't snap your fingers and try to make everything ok. I just can't forget about it that easily. You just can't make this go away."

"I know Summer. I'm sorry I did it to you. But, even if you don't like me I'll still like you. Summer, your different than any other girl I've ever met. When I met you it was like coming up for fresh air."

"Seth, that's not enough. It's not enough to come in here and make a speech on how I saved you. If I saved you from all those Newpsies-in-training, prove it. Show me you're not afraid of what other people would think if they knew that you liked me. Show me you're not afraid to lose your stupid reputation."

"Even if I did prove it, how would I even know if you liked me back?"

"Seth, sometimes you have to take risks. Take risks because you're tired of playing it safe. Just, take a risk because you believe in it, God there I go talking like God dam Dr. Phil again. Anyway Seth, think about it. Until then, I'll be seeing you."

Summer left Seth to sit on the couch with the Spiderman comic sitting on his lap. Her words were true. He dated those girls because they were safe, they were a guarantee. Summer was a risk, a risk Seth might be willing to take. He knew he might lose everything because of her, but what he would gain would be so much more. Seth paid for his comic book, and left the store thinking he should go in there more often.

**A/N: Ah, this is better I think. I think I got over my writers block in this chapter. Thank you! Anyway, I really liked this chapter; even if it took me awhile to write it. I don't know if I'll put in a male Anna because this is starting to take a different course than season one. As you can Seth in this chapter Seth is starting to change because of Summer, which I just love. It's nice to him different than how he was in the first chapter. Anyway please review and feel free to ask questions.**

**P.S.: It pained me so much to say that Death Cab and The Shins were winy music, considering both are my favorite bands.**


	6. A Lack of Color

Summer Roberts had never been the type of girl to skip school. Yesterday was an exception, and the only exception she would every make. Summer walked to her locker slowly and grabbed the necessary books that she needed.

"Hey Sum, missed you at lunch yesterday," a voice said from behind her.

Summer turned around and closed her locker to find Luke standing behind her. He didn't look to be in the best of moods, judging by the frown on his face.

"Hi Luke, sorry about lunch yesterday, I was sick," she quietly said.

"Summer, we both know that if you were sick you would still be here. So did you skip, is my little Summer turning into a rebel?" Luke joked. He was definitely amused by the thought of Summer skipping school, he knew she would never do anything like that.

"As a matter of fact I did skip school yesterday. I had a lot on my mind," She stated as she starting walking towards her next class.

"Whoa, I never expected that. I was just joking. I guess there's a first time for everything."

"You should do it sometime Luke; it really clears your head. Wow, I never thought I'd be saying that."

"Well, Sum, neither would I. Anyway, I got to get to class; I'll catch you at lunch though, right? I mean, you will show up this time?"

"Yeah, Luke, I'll be there."

Summer watched as Luke walked away. She started to smile thinking that today might not be so bad after all. However, her smile quickly faded when she knew that she had to go to Calculus next, and face Seth Cohen.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Summer walked into the room with her head held high trying to avoid any eye contact from Seth Cohen. Once she looked at her table she saw that he was not there, and a small smile began to creep on her face. _Looks like he was too scared to face me again today, that ass. _ Summer quietly pulled the chair out from under the table and started to hum a little. She hadn't been in this good a mood since the time she left Seth's house. Just as Summer had scooted her chair under the table she looked up to see the man himself staring at her.

"Why hello there Ms. Roberts," he said with his signature crooked smile. _It doesn't matter how mad I am at him, those damn dimples get me all the time. _

"Wow, Seth, talking to me in public? Aren't you afraid someone might see?" she sarcastically said.

"Ha, oh Summer, you always humor me with your sarcastic comments!" he said grinning.

"Oh my God, are you drunk?"

"No, why you think for me to talk to you I have to be drunk?"

"Maybe. Anyway, I'm still mad at you, even if you do find my comments sarcastic."

"Still mad at me? Well, that's just too bad, because I was going to see if you could tutor me tonight, I don't get exactly what were learning."

Summer sighed," Seth I already taught you this the other day," Seth winked at her.

"Oh my God, your asking me on a date aren't you. You're trying to do the whole naughty teacher/student thing. That's not going to fly with me Seth, besides I already have a date tonight," she said smiling. _I'm not supposed to be flirting with him; I'm supposed to be mad at him damn it!_

"A date with whom?"

"I have a date with Princess Sparkle, and if I can bring myself to drink it, a bottle of tequila."

"You're blowing me off for a bottle of tequila that you may or may not drink."

"Precisely."

"Well, I can say confidently that I am more fun that tequila. But, if the tequila doesn't treat you well, feel free to stop by my casa, because I'll actually talk back."

"You know, I'm gonna see if I can take the test I missed during class, have fun tonight. I'm sure Princess Sparkle and I will be just fine."

Summer walked to the front of the room to see if Mr. Johnson would let her take the test. Luckily, he did. Once she took it from his hands she smiled, she knew she would ace this test and she knew she aced her conversation with Seth.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Summer sat on the end of her bed with a bottle of tequila in one had and Princess Sparkle in the other. She still hadn't opened the bottle yet. Summer wasn't a big drinker, the only time she had a drink was at her cousin's wedding, and that was a glass of cheap wine. She never saw the appeal of drinking just to get drunk; she thought the idea was stupid.

But there she was, holding a bottle of tequila waiting any second to drink it. A couple of times she pressed the bottle to her lips, but she could never bring herself to actually taste a drop. She then looked in her other hand at Princess Sparkle and smiled.

"Princess Sparkle, do you think I should actually go over to Cohen's house. I mean we could sit and talk. I could tell him maybe we should just be friends or something, just so we can clear the air."

Summer looked at her toy horse waiting to see if she would give some kind of answer. She knew that the horse would never respond, so she placed her back on her nightstand and went to grab her magic 8 ball on her dresser.

"Ok, Oh great magic 8 ball, should I go to Cohen's tonight?" She closed her eyes and shook the ball, not peeking until she knew she'd have an answer. When she opened her eyes the magic 8 ball read,' yes.' _Shit, I hate fate._

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Seth was standing in the kitchen holding a cup of coffee. He had just finished helping Kirsten with the dishes, then he realized he needed a caffeine fix before he watched the movie he had rented earlier. As Seth finished the contents of his coffee cup, he heard the doorbell ring. He didn't want to answer it, but since Sandy and Kirsten were upstairs, he decided to.

Seth made his way from the kitchen to the front door. As he was walking he was humming one of his favorite Shins songs in his head. He opened the door, but didn't expect Summer to be on the other side.

"Hey Summer. I see the tequila didn't treat you well, so did you come for another fix of the Seth Cohen charm?" he said trying to sound as smooth as he could.

"Actually, ass, I was hoping we could talk about some things," she said while twisting her fingers.

"Uh, yeah, do you want to go into the kitchen?" Seth said surprised. He didn't know what Summer wanted to talk to him about, but he knew it couldn't be good.

"Well, I was hoping somewhere a little more private."

"Sure, let's go up to my room."

Once Summer entered his room, it was nothing like she expected it to be. She expected it to be messy, but instead it was neat and organized. She saw all kinds of bad posters hanging on his wall, the bands that he would never tell his friends that he liked. But her eye caught something standing on his nightstand.

"Aw, who is this?" she said picking up a small brown toy horse.

"That? That is not mine."

"Well, I would believe you if it didn't say 'property of Seth' written on it," she joked.

"Well, that is Captain Oats, he is my personal therapist. He doesn't say much, but he listens pretty well."

"Look, Seth, can we talk?" Summer sat down on the bed and Seth quickly sat down next to her. He looked at Summer while she took a deep breath.

"These past few days have been crazy. I mean between the kiss, you telling me you like me, and then seeing you yesterday at the mall. It's been pretty weird. I mean what I'm trying to say is, I think maybe we should just be friends, I don't want you to do something that you regret with me."

"Summer, are you sure you just want to be friends?"

"For now at least. If were supposed to be together than somehow fate will just put us together. Right now we should just take things slow."

"Yeah, I guess that sounds reasonable."

"I hope you're not mad. I mean I understand, because for the past few days I've been upset at you."

"No, it's fine. I understand," a smile started to creep on Seth's face. "So what are you planning to do the rest of tonight?"

"Well, I did already have my date with tequila, but I dumped his sorry ass. So now I guess you could say I'm free."

"Well, how about watching a movie with me, or should I say two movies that you would definitely enjoy."

"Hmm, what are these movies Cohen?" she said seductively as she walked toward him.

"I rented the first two Spiderman movies, I had a hunch you would come and be in the mood for movies."

"Fine Cohen, let's watch the movies," she said as she rolled her eyes. _This is definitely going to be a interesting night. _

**A/N: I like this chapter a lot, I like the fact that Summer is flirting with Seth again, because I love to write that. Anyway read and review as usual. **


	7. Fix You

Summer woke up the next morning with the sun shining brightly in her eyes. She had a terrible crick in her neck, and for the life of her she couldn't figure out why. She opened her eyes to find her surroundings different than usual. She wasn't lying in her bed; instead she was lying on a couch. Summer brushed her hair out of her eyes and sat up only to find Seth Cohen lying on the opposite side of the couch. _Oh My God, we fell asleep here last night! _

"Seth! Seth wake up" she said hitting him violently.

"Come on mom five more minutes?" he asked still half sleeping.

"Ass! Wake up!" she kept violently hitting him until he opened his eyes. Seth looked around the living room with a confused look on his face.

"Summer? When did you get here," he questioned with a smile on his face.

"Asshat, I've been here all night!"

"Wait, we didn't…" Seth trailed off, then he looked down to make sure his pants were still intact.

"No, we fell asleep watching the movie, at least that's what I think."

"What time is it?"

Summer went into the kitchen to look at the clock. "It's six. School doesn't start for another two hours, I should probably go."

"No, stay!" he said. Summer turned around to give him a puzzled look. "I mean why should you go all the way back to your house when you could just stay here?"

"Let me think, oh yeah, I have parents probably wandering where I am right now."

"Just tell them you stayed at a friend's house and you forgot to call them."

"One problem with that plan: I don't have any friends."

"Well, I thought that we were friends remember?"

Summer smiled at the thought of her and Seth Cohen being friends. She sighed and then rejoined Seth on the couch. He smiled at her and then she rolled her eyes at him.

"I guess I could stay. We are friends and all, that is if you talk to me at school."

"I will, don't worry."

Summer rolled her eyes again at Seth's comment. She didn't know why she was so attracted to him. Maybe it was because many of the girls at school didn't get to see this side of Seth. With Summer he showed his funny side, he didn't show that to any other girls at school. Even his best friend, Ryan, didn't know he was funny.

"By the way you look really nice this morning," he added.

"Shut up you ass!" she yelled playfully at him. She knew she didn't look good. Her hair was messed up and she had no makeup on. But with Seth she felt comfortable not doing her hair and putting makeup on.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

One hour and three bowls of cereal later, the two were sitting on the couch watching old reruns of _Beverly Hill, 90210._

"This is my favorite, the one where the graduate," Summer smiled while looking at Seth.

"Hmm, Donna Martin graduates, who would have thought?"

"Shut up, this is a good episode!"

Summer went back into the kitchen to look at the clock. As she walked to the clock, she saw a picture of Seth at his bar mitzvah. She grabbed the picture off the desk and brought it into the living room.

"So, I see this is you at your bar mitzvah," she said as she sat next to him.

"Yeah, that was a pretty good party. Everyone danced to _That's What Friends Are For, _manthat was one of the best nights of my life. Everyone was there, I invited the entire school."

"You didn't invite me," she said.

"Oh, wow, I didn't know that," Seth lowered his head and stared at the floor.

"I just remember everyone talking about it. How everyone was so excited that they had an invitation, I just kept waiting for mine, but it never came. I even sat next to in homeroom that year. You barley acknowledged me, but you did ask me for a piece of gum one time," she said quietly.

"I didn't know I was that mean to you, I'm really sorry Summer."

"Well, on the first day of school you laughed at me when I fell. Then you told me to not talk to you in Calculus, then you completely ignored when I smiled at you during lunch."

"Summer, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize that."

"Don't worry about it, it's in the past. You can't do anything about it, you can't change the past. I'm gonna take a shower, and I guess I'll wear the same thing I did yesterday, I wasn't expecting to sleep over."

"I'll see you when you get down."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Thirty minutes later Summer can trudging down the stairs she walked into the kitchen where she saw Seth sipping on coffee and enjoying the comic he bought the other day.

"What are you reading, Wait—are you reading a comic book?" She snatched the book out his hands and held it above his head. Seth stood up and grabbed it from her hands as she laughed.

"Well, they're not so bad after all," he said while winking at her.

"I'm gonna go ahead and go to school, I guess I'll see you there?"

"Yeah, I'm just going to come later." Seth watched Summer walk out his front door and a smile crept across his face.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Summer tapped her pencil during calculus. It was almost the end of class and Seth had still not showed up to class. Summer started to get worried thinking something might have happened to him on the way to school. She herd the bell ring and immediately made her way up to Mr. Johnson's desk.

"Excuse me, Mr. Johnson; do you know where Seth is? We have a tutoring session today."

"Well, it shows me on the computer that he never showed up today."

"Ok, well thanks anyway," she said with a half-smile on her face.

Summer walked out the room wandering where Seth was. She knew he wasn't sick, she had seen him just that morning. _Maybe he's skipping, that would be just like him! He's probably doesn't want to face me today, that asshole! _Just as Summer was silently cursing Seth, Luke walked by.

"Luke, wait up!" she yelled, but he didn't seem to be stopping. He just walked right by her. She finally ran far enough to catch up with him.

"What do you want Summer?" he asked grimly.

"Luke what is wrong with you?"

"Like you don't know. Ryan finally asked Marissa out. She's been acting cheerful this entire week; she even talked to _me_ in anatomy."

"Luke, that's great!"

"Summer, did you not listen? Ryan asked her out, my chances with her are officially blown. Some advice I gave. Just go for it, you know that's the stupidest shit I've ever heard. Look, I got to go to class. Bye Sum."

Summer now knew why Marissa had talked to her the other day. She was in a good mood because Ryan asked her out. Summer just stood in the middle of the hallway thinking about what Luke had said. She shrugged her shoulders and then went down the hall to her next class still wondering where Seth was.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Summer stood at her locker after school deciding what to bring home. She was still upset at what Luke had told her, but Luke never made his move. He didn't follow his own advice, he wanted Marissa to make the first move, he was too afraid of being rejected. Summer closed her locker and headed out to the parking lot.

Once Summer was home, she threw her books on the kitchen table and headed into her bedroom. She wasn't supposed to be at Seth's house until five. She couldn't wait to curse him out for leaving her today, plus she wanted to know where he was.

Summer walked into her bedroom and picked Princess Sparkle off her nightstand. She got out one of her brushed and began brushing the horse's hair. _I feel like I'm six years old again. _She needed to do something to get her mind off of Seth. She knew if she sat around the house and waited until five she would go crazy. Plus brushing Princess Sparkle's hair relaxed her.

She then became quickly bored of brushing her horse's hair, and she reached under her bed to read one of her comics. She tried to concentrate on the plot, but all she could think about was Seth Cohen. _Why didn't he come to school today? I hope nothing happened to him. _ She was beginning to get worried about Seth. She immersed herself in her comic until she finally looked at her clock and saw that it was already four-thirty.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Summer breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Seth's car was in the driveway undamaged. _At least he didn't get in a car accident. _She then saw Seth close the blinds to his room and wave at her. _That ass! He skipped school because of me! _ Summer marched up to the doorway and pounded in as hard as she could, but no one answered.

"Cohen, I know you can hear me! Now open this door!" she yelled while still pounding on the door.

Seth walked up to the door with a content look on his face. Summer couldn't believe he was being like this, all happy and smiling.

"Shalom!" Seth said to her.

"Ass!" she said while pushing him. "You blow me off school today and then you answer the door yelling 'Shalom'? Wait—are you wearing a Yakama?"

"Precisely, now will you please close your eyes and follow me?" he asked. Summer rolled her eyes and then closed them. She stuck out her hand and Seth grabbed it while leading her.

"Now open your eyes!" he said. Summer looked around the living room confused. She saw that there were table set up and a podium at the front of the room. She turned around to Seth with a puzzled look on her face.

"Um, what the hell is this?"

"Here," he said handing her an envelope ", I'm sorry it's a few years late."

Summer tore open the envelope to see that it was an invitation. She furrowed her eyebrows until she read the invitation:

_You're invited!_

_What: Seth Cohen's bar mitzvah_

_Where: His house_

_When: Today _

"I'm sorry it was so late, it must have gotten lost in the mail. Those damn postal workers can never get anything out on time."

Summer didn't say anything. She just ran up and hugged Seth.

"Seth, this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. Thanks!"

"Now if you will please take your seat, I will begin my reading of the Torah."

While Summer sat at listened to Seth, she couldn't help but laugh. The entire time he was reading he was stumbling and mispronouncing all of the words. But it didn't matter to Summer, it was the fact that he had skipped school to plan a bar mitzvah just for her. Once Seth was finished she clapped and hugged him again.

"I think you need to brush up on your Hebrew skills," Summer joked.

"Yeah, well it takes a lot of work to become a man—twice." Seth grabbed the remote off the coffee table and turned the stereo on. The stereo started playing _That's what friends are for. _

"I'm sorry you got to miss this song the first time, it's a bar mitzvah staple. Summer, would you like to dance?"

"God, Cohen that is so cheesy!"

"Well that is how I get all the girls; I use the cheesy Cohen charm," he said to her smiling. Seth grabbed Summer and pulled her close to him. As they were dancing Summer turned to Seth.

"Thanks for this Seth, it was really nice."

"Hey can I tell you a secret?"

"Yeah…"

"Last night I saw you fall asleep, but I didn't wake you up."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted you to stay."

Summer didn't say anything. She just moved her body closer to Seth and closed her eyes, and for once in her life things seemed perfect.

**A/N: this was definitely my favorite chapter to write. I loved to write this one so much! Anyway read and review and check out my other story The Last Five Years!**


	8. Author's Note

**Authors Note: Sorry to get your hopes up if you thought this was a chapter but I'm kind of out of ideas for this piece. So just leave a review saying what you might like to see happen, and I'll try to make it happen! **


	9. Last Train Home

**A/N: Wow, you guys it's been forever since I've updated this story. School has been getting in the way, so I haven't really had time. But know since its Christmas break I figured maybe I can at least get a few chapters done. I hope this isn't too bad considering I haven't written this story in a long time. Anyway, please read and review if you're still reading this story!**

The following morning Summer found herself waking up with butterflies in her stomach. She was nervous she would go to school only to find Seth Cohen once again ignoring her. She carefully and slowly pulled the covers off of her and sighed. She took one long glance at Princess Sparkle hoping the plastic horse could foresee her future. However, the horse did not show her what she wanted; it instead stood firmly on her nightstand. Summer grabbed her glasses and pushed a stray hair away from her face, once again sighing she pushed herself off her bed and towards her closet. She glanced at the clothes that were hanging from the hangers and she once again selected a t-shirt. There was no use in trying to impress Seth Cohen if he wouldn't even acknowledge her.

Summer quickly ran from her bedroom and into the kitchen and grabbed an apple for the road. She waved goodbye to her father, and bounded out of her front door. She opened her car door vigorously not wanting images of Seth to fill her mind. But no matter how hard she slammed her door or how many shots of tequila she drank, she could never get those damn dimples out of her head.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

She pulled into the parking lot later than she usually did; however, she was greeted by something very different. There was a parking spot in the front and center of the parking lot. Summer furrowed her brow and looked both ways seeing if any cars were coming. She hesitantly pulled into the spot and then checked in her review mirrors to see if any of the water polo players were going to taunt and attack her. Once she saw the coast was clear she slowly got out of the car and closed the door. She shrugged her shoulders and smiled.

She entered the building and immediately looked for any sign of her closet romance. No sign of him yet. She bounded to her locker to see Luke standing leaning against his, appearing to be waiting for her.

"Hey Luke, what's going on with you?" she chuckled at the stupid chagrin he still had planted on his face.

"Nothing, I just have this feeling that today is going to be a really good day, you know? I had this dream last night that me and Marissa were making out on the couch and then one thing led to another and—"

"Ugh, Luke, please spare me the details. The first thing I don't want to hear in the morning is your fantasies with Marissa," she playfully teased at him.

"But all I'm saying is if that was reality damn—"

"Luke, please?" she raised her voice slightly at him.

"Okay, okay. I'll back off. So how are you and Cohen?" he playfully hit her arm.

"We're fine. I mean it's not like we're dating. We talk. Okay actually we just talk when no one else is around, but that's fine. It's not like we're ever going to date or anything."

What Summer wanted to tell Luke is that she hoped that she and Seth would one day date, and that one day they could talk when others were around.

"At lease its progress…right?" he shrugged.

"Right," she said to Luke, while trying to reassure herself at the same time.

The morning bell rang throughout the school and it once again signaled for Summer to return to hell, with the devil herself, Marissa Cooper. She made her way towards the gym and finally saw _him. _Not wanting to draw embarrassment to herself, she looked away. She didn't want to see the evil smirk or the avoidance of eye contact. However, if Summer had looked, she would have seen the wave and the friendly smile that Seth was trying to give her.

She pushed open the gym doors and made her way towards the locker room, she kept her head hung low, not wanting to see the laughter she would get everyday. And so she continued her journey, her head hung low in pseudo confidence. She reached her destination and sighed, not wanting any more torture from Marissa Cooper. However, when she opened the door she found the locker room to be empty. Confused, she looked around for any sign of the girls playing an evil trick on her. And then she remembered. Her class today was going to be held in the auditorium, it was supposed to be another boring lecture about safe sex. Not wanting to sit through another one of those, and especially in the vicinity of Seth, Summer did something she never thought she would do—she skipped class.

Hoping no one would see her out of character act, Summer quickly fled from the gym to the girl's bathroom. She entered quickly and chose a stall to spend the next hour of her life. Summer sat down and grabbed a comic book out of her purse, and tried to remain calm. However, she could not shake the feeling out of her head that she would somehow get caught, but she pushed the feeling out of her head and she tried to concentrate on the next adventure she would have with Superman.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Unlike Sleeping Beauty, Summer was not awoken from her sleep by a kiss, but rather by a very loud bell that pierced her ears. She looked at her watch, and panicked when she saw that she had not only missed gym but also Calculus, and World History. _Shit, Shit. Why did I have to freaking skip? Damn Seth Cohen! If it wasn't for you then I wouldn't have skipped gym at all!! Now, I'm definitely going to get in trouble. _

Summer stepped out of the stall and strolled to her locker to grab her lunch. She couldn't believe that she had slept through all of her first three classes. All she wanted to do was go to lunch and make it through the day without getting caught. However, Summer knew that the latter was nearly impossible.

Just as she was entering the lunchroom Summer was met with a pair of dimples that could only belong to one man—Seth Cohen.

"Shit," she muttered.

"What?" he asked puzzled. He had never heard that word escape from Summer's lips before.

"Nothing," she quickly brushed his question.

"Been looking," he smiled.

"Been hiding," she looked away.

"Hiding from what?"

"Whom…" Summer continued to look away.

"Excuse me?" Seth was becoming increasingly frustrated with the short and witty conversation they were having.

"Hiding from whom?" she retorted.

"Oh," he finally understood ", hiding from whom?"

"You," she blankly stated, avoiding any eye contact from Seth Cohen.

"Me?"

"Yes, you."

"But why?"

"Because you did something really nice Seth. Probably the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, but I didn't want to come to school for you to ignore me."

"I don't understand. I'm not ignoring you. As you can obviously tell I'm talking to you right now. And if you go back to one of the first things I said to you, I said I was looking for you."

"You have a point…" she looked at him for the fist time since she bumped into him.

"I always have a point. It's just that people usually don't give me credit for them," he smirked.

"You have a point with that too," she smiled the first genuine smile she had smiled all day.

"Oh so now we're trying to be a smart ass aren't we? So, Summer Roberts, will you please honor me with your presence at lunch?"

"I would, but I can't. I can't leave Luke all alone. I'm sorry, maybe another time?" she smiled.

"Fine, but just realize these offers don't come around very often…" he smirked as he walked towards his respective lunch table as she walked towards hers.

Summer plopped down in the seat directly across from Luke, he looked up from the book he was reading and smiled at her. Summer didn't say anything to Luke; instead she turned around and looked at Seth. Seth looked up and caught her eyes, and instead of smiling he winked at her. Summer cocked her head and winked back at Seth, and she turned around to face a very confused looking Luke.

"What was that about?" he pointed at Seth with his fork.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing," she grinned as took a bite of her salad.

Summer was interrupted from her peaceful silence by the sound of the tray hitting the table. She looked up to see another boy sitting next to Luke. Summer was confused, seeing as no one had ever sat next to Luke and her as long as she could remember. Luke noticed the confused look on Summer's face and he immediately informed her about the stranger.

"Summer, this is Barrett, he moved here all the way from New York City," Luke beamed proudly at the fact that he had gained a new friend.

Summer took the new stranger's appearance in. She found the outsider to be quite attractive. Some of his dark brown wavy hair fell across his eyes. His eyebrows were thick and dark and had what appeared to be a constant worried look etched in them. He looked at Summer and smiled, and that's when she swore she felt her knees go a little weak. His smile was crooked and his eyes seemed to light up with life. When he smiled he looked completely different. She also noticed his choice of wardrobe: a black button down that was tucked into very dark jeans and capped off with black Chucks. Summer felt her heart skip a beat when she looked at Barrett once again.

"So, New York huh?" she nervously asked him.

"New York," he reassured her.

"Is it cold there?" she stupidly questioned. She knew the answer, _of course its cold there Summer, duh!_

"Sometimes, but sometimes its not," he smiled again. Damn.

"Oh" was all that she could say. So she went back to eating her salad and she didn't talk to Barrett for the rest of the lunch period.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Summer had managed to escape from any sort of punishment from her earlier skipping. That is, until she came to her last period. Once she entered the room she found herself being called to the principal's office and she was given the grand prize of one week's detention.

After school she began to walk towards the detention room she was assigned until once again she was stopped by Seth.

"What do you want now Seth?" she asked angrily.

"Wow, maybe I should come back at another time or something…"

"No! No!" she grabbed his arm,"Oh, sorry about that. It's just that where I'm going I really don't want to go to."

"And where are you going?"

"Detention," she mumbled.

"Wait a minute. Summer Roberts has detention?" he asked with a surprised look on his face.

"Yes, okay. Now let me go before I get into any more trouble."

"Okay, enjoy your time Sum!"

Summer rolled her eyes as she parted ways with him. She couldn't believe that she was somehow in love with that guy. As she entered the room she noticed no one else sitting in it, which would make the detention experience all the more dreadful. She gently placed her backpack down and grabbed her AP English textbook out, just as she was sitting down she noticed a shadow of someone else coming into the room.

Summer looked up and saw no one other than Barrett, the very guy who had charmed her with here good looks and heart melting smile earlier. His eyes spotted her and he immediately took the chair next to her.

"So, first day of school and you're already in detention?" she asked flirtatiously.

"Yeah, well funny story, they don't allow cell phone use in this school," he smiled again. Damn, again.

"No, no they don't."


End file.
